“They Said ‘Lift Kara De’ Was Downmarket”: Adnan Sami Reveals How His Biggest Hit Almost Never Released on Komal Nahta’s Game Changers: The Music Series

Komal Nahta, one of India’s most respected trade analysts, is back with a fresh season of his podcast Game Changers: The Music Series. This edition shines a spotlight on celebrated singers, composers, and music maestros as they share their creative journeys, inspirations, and the untold stories behind the music that has shaped generations. The latest episode featured Adnan Sami.

A Padma Shri recipient, Adnan Sami is an internationally acclaimed singer, pianist, and composer celebrated for his extraordinary vocal range and signature blend of Indian classical and Western pop music. While speaking about his Game Changer song in the industry, Adnan shared how ‘Lift Kara De’, one of his biggest hits, almost didn’t make it. He shared, “Lift Kara De was the song that literally broke me into the masses. My song was being played everywhere like an anthem. The funny part is, the record label at that time was dead against releasing the song. They didn’t believe in it. Their point was, we already had two romantic songs; when it came to the third, they were leaning towards another romantic song. I chose Lift Kara De, and they said, ‘Kahan Barsaat aur Kahan Kabhi Toh Nazar Milao; yeh gaana kitna downmarket hai. You have a very sophisticated image as a romantic singer.'”

He further continued, “I said, I see potential in this song. I don’t want to get stuck in a genre. I want to sing all kinds of songs. This is the time where I break that mould, so people don’t put me in the category of a specific type of singer. After six months of relentless convincing, they allowed me to do the song. The whole song was sung without a budget; the whole shooting was on the streets of Bombay, early morning guerrilla shooting without any permissions. They had no guarantee that this would work, and suddenly it went through the roof. Then they came back to me to make a remix.”

With Game Changers Season: The Music Series, Komal Nahta is redefining the landscape of Indian cinema conversations. Tune in to the YouTube channel for Game Changer: The Music Series!